The Political Legacy of American Slavery

Citation:

Acharya, Avidit, Matthew Blackwell, and Maya Sen. 2016. “The Political Legacy of American Slavery.” Journal of Politics 78 (3): 621-641. Copy at https://tinyurl.com/y9zmmpzk
slavery.pdf897 KB

Date Published:

2016

Abstract:

We show that contemporary differences in political attitudes across counties in the American South in part trace their origins to slavery’s prevalence more than 150 years ago. Whites who currently live in Southern counties that had high shares of slaves in 1860 are more likely to identify as a Republican, oppose affirmative action, and express racial resentment and colder feelings toward blacks. We show that these results cannot be explained by existing theories, including the theory of contemporary racial threat. To explain the results, we offer evidence for a new theory involving the historical persistence of political attitudes. Following the Civil War, Southern whites faced political and economic incentives to reinforce existing racist norms and institutions to maintain control over the newly freed African American population. This amplified local differences in racially conservative political attitudes, which in turn have been passed down locally across generations.

Notes:

Select Media Coverage: New York Magazine, The Rochester Democrat & ChronicleMonkey Cage, Washington PostHuffington Post, Daily Mail (UK)

Publisher's Version

Last updated on 06/15/2016